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Poster for Can't Hardly Wait

Can't Hardly Wait

Yesterday's history. Tomorrow's the future. Tonight's the party.

1998 · 1h 40m · PG-13 Comedy, Romance
Directed by Harry Elfont , Deborah Kaplan

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Overview

It's graduation day at Huntington Hills High, and you know what that means - time to party. And not just any party, either. This one will be a night to remember, as the nerds become studs, the jocks are humiliated, and freshman crushes blossom into grown-up romance.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
41%
Tomatometer
Rotten

Kaplan and Elfont provide a real public service by showing how underage binge drinking can boost bookish students' social lives.

Mark Caro, Chicago Tribune
Fresh

Fortunately, some of the appealing young performers -- who include Ethan Embry, Charlie Korsmo, Lauren Ambrose and, especially, Seth Green -- manage to emerge from the film's generic suburban-teen backdrop.

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
Rotten

There are signs that Can't Hardly Wait once had more serious aspirations... But in the final edit, at least, it's the dumb, broad slapstick that prevails, short-circuiting identification with the characters before it can begin.

Dave Kehr, New York Daily News
Rotten

The majority of the film is mired in magazine cliches and tired gags. Oh, look, the foreign exchange student only knows how to say he's a sex machine, haw! And the nerd's getting drunk! Hoo!

Melanie McFarland, Seattle Times
Fresh

The film deserves credit, both for its breezy pacing and its uncommon tendency to make its characters smarter and geekier than they might have been.

Stephen Thompson, AV Club

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